The One Who Warned Her
by Corkrose
Summary: Modern AU. Tom Branson is a hard working humanitarian and journalist who enjoys his life, but his whole world changes when he meets Sybil Crawley, a dedicated doctor. The two embark on a journey of friendship changing each other's lives and the world.
1. Chapter 1

_I just finished Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, and this idea popped into my head. I reference the book in the story, so if you have not read it (which you totally should), it's about the amazing Dr. Paul Farmer who discovered an efficient way to bring first world medicine to third world Haiti._

* * *

"Excuse me," he murmurs as he picks up her things off the ground. He pauses though when he sees it. One of his favorite books, Mountains Beyond Mountains. He looks up at the person who dropped the book.

He had only seen her face briefly when he bumped into her, but now looking at her beautiful features, he can't help but stare. She has friendly, blue eyes with lashes that give her a sensual look as well as an innocent one, and smiling rose-colored lips that he imagines say the most beautiful things.

He stutters when he realizes that he was staring, "Sorry, umm-?"

"Sybil," she replies with a kind smile.

"Yes, sorry, Sybil." He picks up the book, "Is this your book?"

She nods and laughs a sweet sound, "Yes it's one of my favorites. This book is probably what inspired me to go into medicine and human rights."

"Really?" his eyes widen, "It's one of my favorites as well." He stands up and pulls her up with him, "What do you do?"

"I work for Doctors Without Borders," she states proudly.

He chuckles, "That would explain why you would be in a British-owned hotel in Uganda."

"Well, I won't be here for long. I'm going to a small town just outside of Namataba to look at making plans to build a functioning hospital there."

_'She's incredible'_ he thinks to himself.

"And you? What do you do?" the sincerity in her eyes makes him want to tell her everything about himself.

"I'm a journalist for _The Economist_. I'm here doing a story on the minerals that Uganda exports by mining them illegally in the Congo."

She looks surprised. "That's amazing! I never meet strangers who even know about the conflict in Congo, let alone report on it. What's your name? I would love to read your article when you're done."

He smiles._ 'It's so easy to converse with her. She's smart and informed, not to mention friendly!'_ "Tom Branson," he shakes her hand, "I'll do you one better than reading my article. I would love to write about this hospital you plan on building. Would you like to meet for dinner tonight? We could go to that Indian place two blocks away."

Her grin makes his heart beat faster. "Absolutely. I'll meet you back here at seven. Is that alright?"

"That sounds good. I'll see you then."

He smiles to himself as he makes his way back to his room. He has a feeling that this trip will be a good one.

* * *

Sybil meets him in the lobby a little later than seven, but somehow the way she comes running to the lobby apologizing for her tardiness makes her more endearing. She is wearing a simple black dress and her hair is styled around her shoulder. He thinks she looks even more beautiful than she did before and is glad that she dressed nicely to match his freshly pressed white oxford and black slacks. They walk to the nearest Indian restaurant and sit down to a very low table for two. He begins by asking her about her background in medicine and what got her involved with Doctors Without Borders.

She responds eloquently and fully, but his questions lead to conversations about their travels which lead to conversations about where they hope to travel which lead to conversations about their hopes and ambitions.

He finds her fascinating. Every detail she shares with him helps him piece together this amazing puzzle of a woman who from the pieces seems like a beautiful piece of artwork.

"I saw this world that we lived in and thought how can we live like this? Millions of people are suffering because of the greed of a few, and millions are dying because of a group's need for power," she starts making large gestures.

"It makes you wonder, 'How can someone do that to another person?'" Tom says ardently, "Every time, we take away someone's power to truly live-to learn, to love, to create a legacy-, we constrict the world. For example, maybe there is a child just twenty miles away from us who has the potential to be the next Einstein, but because he has never been exposed to the rest of the world's knowledge, he can never unlock that potential."

"I have thought about that so many times, but no one has ever been able to voice the words before," she gives him a shy smile and he blushes.

"That's why it is so important what you do, Sybil. Your work saves people who could change the world."

"It is also why your work is so important, Tom. No one will ever see these impoverished people as anything more than pitiful unless you show them."

They make eye contact and neither can look away. In her eyes, he can see ideas that he has never voiced aloud before and ideas that she is subconsciously forming as they speak. Sybil breaks their intense moment by smiling.

"Well, do you want to split the bill evenly?"

He is slightly disoriented by the sudden shifts their conversation took. "That sounds great."

They pay and walk back to the hotel. Her room is on the first floor, so he walks her to her door. Before she slips inside, she asks him, "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"Just working on my article. Why?"

"Would you like to come to, hopefully, the future site of my hospital?" she says tentatively, "For your article."

_'She wants to see you again, Tom!'_ "Definitely!"

They exchange mobile numbers, and Tom walks back to his room with a spring in his step.

* * *

The next day, Tom and Sybil embark to Namataba to work on Sybil's plans. Tom takes photos of the landscape, the people of the village, and Sybil. She giggles as he takes photos of her from awkward angles. "Stop it, Tom! Do your job and take photos of the landscape!" However, he just takes a close up of her eye. "Really! I'm the least photogenic person in the world!"

"Coming out of your beautiful lips, I don't believe you." He falters when he realizes the subtext of his language; however, if Sybil notices it, she doesn't show it.

She walks around the grounds and points to places on her blue prints, showing him all of the features she wants to put in. He laughs at her animated descriptions of the hospital. "What's so funny?" she asks with mock indignation.

"You just seem so excited about all of this. You truly are in your element here," he says with a kind expression.

He expects her to be pleased at his words, but her eyes cloud with sadness. "Are you okay?" he asks.

"I really am in my element here, aren't I?" her voice has lost its normal playful tone.

"You seem to be," he says, afraid of offending her.

"My family doesn't think so," she begins to walk towards an empty building at the edge of her imaginary hospital, and he follows.

"My father is the Earl of Grantham, and my family lives in this large estate in Yorkshire called Downton Abbey. My entire family is rather conservative, so when I showed an interest in social justice and human rights, my father and my grandmother were very displeased. My family also owns a large corporation that employs private contractors, so when I wrote an article in my universities newspaper, criticizing the use of private contractors in the Middle East, my father was furious. We fought about this for months. He claimed that I had changed and that he didn't know who I was anymore," tears begin to gather at the corners of her eyes, "I told him that he had overlooked who I really was and that I never felt like I belonged in their family. I criticized him, telling him that he taught us to follow his ideas blindly, but because I didn't conform like the rest of my family, I was ostracized," they enter the abandoned building and she looks at his empathetic face, "I love my family, but I had to leave them because it was killing me to pretend like I agreed with their actions." Her gaze moves to her hands, "I haven't spoken to my parents in almost a y-."

"Move!" Tom yells as he pulls her out of the way of a falling wooden beam.

She comes back to her senses after a moment and reddens realizing that she is clutching Tom tightly. She immediately lets go of Tom. "Thank you," she whispers.

He nods as two boys come running up to them asking if they are okay. The children lead them to their house which is a small one room hut where their mother is. Their mother speaks some English, and Sybil speaks some Swahili, so she is able to explain what just happened.

"He," she says pointing at Tom, "warned me just in time."

The woman smiles, "Thank, Mungu, you vijana are safe." She glances at Sybil and Tom, "but you know what is said, 'The one who loves you, warns you,'"

Tom and Sybil exchange an awkward look at the woman's misconception before thanking the woman and her children. On their drive back to the city, Sybil addresses their conversation in the abandoned building. "I hope you won't think any less of me for what I told you back there," she gives him a light-hearted smile.

"If you think I would care about where you come from, they you obviously haven't learned anything about me," he breaks the awkwardness.

When they reach the hotel, she walks him up to his room, "Thank you for coming with me today."

"No, thank you. Apart from the part where you almost were killed, I really enjoyed it." He looks at his feet, "I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon, so I guess this is goodbye."

She smiles sadly, "I guess it is." She kisses his cheek, "Thank you, Tom. Don't be a stranger. Call me or email me when you finish your article."

"I will," but by the time he says it, she's gone.

* * *

Tom publishes his article on mineral exports in Uganda, and publishes his story on Sybil's hospital which earns her publicity for her project. Sybil comes back to London three months after they meet, and the two decide to meet up. Over the next year, Tom and Sybil become best friends. They watch TV together, go to movies together, and work on their ideas for social change. A year after they meet, Tom and Sybil have the fortune of attending the wedding of Mary and Matthew Crawley-Sybil's sister and Tom's best mate from University-as the best man and maid of honor.

On the day of the wedding, Sybil comes down from the church's second floor wearing a lavender dress that makes her look angelic. Tom is entranced. _ 'She is so gorgeous. I can't wait to see her in a white dress at our wedding.'_ Tom's jaw drops._ 'Did I really just think that? Oh my God, am I in love with Sybil! I'm in love with Sybil!'_

"How do I look?" she says playing with a handkerchief in her hands.

"Beautiful," he says awe-struck.

"Thanks, Tom," she gives him a friendly smile and begins pacing the floor as Tom sits on the steps in front of her, pondering his new revelation.

"Tom, what am I going to say to him? What if he won't speak to me?" Tom is not paying attention, "Tom?"

"Sorry, I spaced a bit," he said distractedly.

"No worries," she says giving him a reassuring look and flops on to the step next to him. "What if he still hates me?"

He looks at her and tilts her face so she is looking at him directly. "Listen to me, Sybil Crawley. I don't think in the history of Earth there is a person who would hate if if her he truly knew you."

She blushes, "Oh, Tom, you always know what to say."

Mary comes down the steps then in her 1920s style dress which makes her look like a princess. Hearing his cue, Sybil's father enters and sees his daughter for the first time in months. Tom has to get to the front of the church, but he gives Sybil's arm a reassuring squeeze before leaving the narthex.

Sybil doesn't speak to her father-who ignores her-, but instead waits to hear the sound of organ music to move to begin walking down the aisle. During the ceremony, Sybil and Tom exchange glances in their secret language that no one else seems to catch. When the ceremony ends, Tom takes Sybil's arm and follows Matthew and Mary out of the church.

At the wedding reception, Tom and Sybil dance to their favorite jazz songs from the big band era in Downton's large ballroom. Sybil is laughing loudly when the person next to Sybil spills her drink. "Move!" Tom exclaims as he pulls Sybil away from the drink, saving her dress.

Once again, Sybil finds herself clutching to Tom. She lets go of him. "Thank you," she grins, "This is very similar to when we were in Uganda in that abandoned building."

He smiles, "Well, you know what they say, 'Whoever warns you, loves you.'"

Sybil laughs remembering the old woman's words. She holds out her hands, "Well, thank you for warning me. Now let's dance."

"The pleasure is all mine," he says with a little bow. '_If only she knew.'_

* * *

Almost a year later, Tom and Sybil find themselves in Haiti. Tom is working on an article on Haiti's deforestation, and Sybil wanted to join him to study the hospitals built by other organizations in Port-au-Prince. When they land in Port-au-Prince, Sybil smiles at Tom. "This reminds me of how we met?"

He looks at her quizzically. "Do you remember? You bumped into me, and I dropped my copy of Mountains Beyond Mountains."

Tom gives her one of his classic lopsided grins, "How could I forget? We first bonded over the story of a Haitian hospital and now we're here in Haiti studying geography and hospitals."

They check into their hotel and unpack in their individual rooms before meeting back in the lobby. They go out to see the deforested regions outside Port-au-Prince. Tom takes notes and photos while Sybil looks at a place she imagines was beautiful once.

The rest of the week progresses similarly where Tom and Sybil explore different areas of destruction in the country. On their last day, Tom and Sybil hike up into the mountains overlooking a sad-looking, polluted river with damaged homes along the riverbank destroyed by the earthquake.

A tear slips from Sybil's blue eye as she looks at the destroyed homes. Tom looks at her with concern, "Sybil?"

"I wonder what happened to the people who lived there," she points to the houses below them, "That was someone's home. Maybe their children were born there. Maybe that is where a wife fell in love with her husband. Maybe her husband hoped to someday build up the house, so his grandchildren could make memories there too."

Sybil begins to sob, "All of the families who lived down there could fit inside Downton, and they would never go hungry or never be cold." She stares at her palms, "What did I ever do to deserve Downton and an education and the opportunity to change others' lives? What did those people ever do to deserve poverty, destruction, and death?"

Tom has seen Sybil express sadness at the world's unfairness, but he has never seen her this worked up about it. He brushes away her tears with his thumbs, "You didn't do anything to deserve it, nor did they. Some people are lucky and are born with the ability to make our lives better and some aren't. The thing about you, Sybil, is that you don't simply sit around and pity them or thank God for your life. You go and figure out ways to let these people improve their lives and the lives of others." He took her hand. "Never doubt that you are a good person, Sybil. I have seen your impact on the world. I have seen your impact on individual people. The children who you help look at you like a role model. You set an example for them, and they are now more likely to follow in your footsteps. You have inspired your coworkers in to believing that the improbable is probable with passion and hard work." He looks deep in to her eyes, "I know the impact you have made on my live, Sybil. When I feel like the world is a horrible place with nothing but greed, selfishness, and violence; you, just by being yourself, make me have hope for the world. Please, cry until you get it all out, but just don't get too disheartened because you have so much still to do in this world."

She's looking directly at him with an expressionless face, "Tom..."

"Move!" he yells as he pulls her away from a falling rock.

She is holding on to him again, but this time she doesn't move away. "The one who warns you, loves you," she whispers, a breath away from his face.

"I love you," he breathes.

"I love y-" she is cut off by his lips on hers. He kisses her passionately, like all the hope in the world is invested in that one kiss.

When they break apart, he looks at the sky and smiles at him. "It's getting dark, we should get back to the hotel."

She gives him another kiss, and with that the pair make their way back down the mountain.

* * *

_Next chapter is the epilogue. Please review to let me know what you think!_


	2. Epilogue

_Thanks for all your kind words and support! Especially thanks to yankeecountess and MH96 whose reviews completely made my day. On to the epilogue!_

* * *

Tom watches as Sybil stands before the building, surveying her work. Tom walks up to her and stands next to her. "It's hard to believe that this was just a deserted clearing just a year and a half ago."

She smiles at him nostalgically and leans against him. "It's hard to believe that it's almost been four years since the day you saved me."

"Which time?"

She swats at him, but he knows she's too happy to continue with her mock annoyance. She has completed her hospital-a beautiful two-story brick building with air-conditioning, glass windows, and first-world medical equipment-and she's sharing it with all the people she loves most. She has achieved her dreams which since have grown and expanded, bringing with it a world of possibilities.

"Let's go," she says taking his hand.

He walks with her to the small house where he has fond memories of from when he first met Sybil. The enter and smell food cooking. "Hujambo, Dr. Sybil, Tom!"

Since his first encounter with the woman, Tom has come to know Miria quite well. Sybil and Tom have visited Miria many times and have become like family to her. When her two sons started college with money from a non-profit, Tom and Sybil inspired them to go in to writing and medicine, respectively.

"Miria," Sybil hugs the old woman, "How are your sons?"

"Very good, Yoweri will graduate in end of year!" Miria exclaims.

Miria gestures for Tom and Sybil to sit down as she pours them bowls of stew. The three eat together and converse happily about the future and their plans. Tom tells Miria that he has become a featured columnist for the Atlantic Monthly talking about social issues in addition to his work for The Economist, and Sybil tells her about her plans to build medical schools and learning hospitals in several third-world countries within the next ten years.

"So many big plans, you two!" Miria laughs, "But tell me, when you two going to get married? Now, it's almost four years!"

"Miria, we've only been dating for about a year and a half," Sybil puts her hand on top of Miria's.

"I know since you came here he loves you and you love him," she takes the couple's hands, "Remember, the one who warns you, loves you."

Sybil and Tom exchange a knowing glance. "And that I do, Miria," Tom embraces the old woman, "but I need to get back to the city."

Tom and Sybil leave and walk back toward the hospital. They pass the hospital to see a little communal vegetable garden where the abandoned building once stood. Tom pulls her toward the garden, takes a blossom from a plant, and gives it to her. She smiles at him and kisses his cheek. Tom begins to walk around the small space. "I feel sorry for the people who think that Uganda is a bad place because I happen to love it. From my viewpoint, here is a place has been taken advantage of and made unstable, but people are welcoming and kind, and the environment is beautiful. It may be a third-world country now, but I believe that much of our world could become developed within our lifetime, especially because of you."

She blushes. "Tom, you'll make my head explode with all of you compliments."

"How can I not compliment you when it's impossible for me to take you for granted even after all this time? I have seen your abilities for the past four years, but day in and day out I never cease to discover new things about you."

"Tom," she takes his hand, "you give me so much credit when your stubborn humility never lets you see how amazing you are. I'm not nearly as good with words as you are, but I have never met anyone who," she pauses figure out what to say, "who makes me see the world like you. I used to hate myself with a passion. I never thought I was doing enough or I spent so much time on my work I neglected my friendships, but you made me love myself. I see no end to the possibilities we can accomplish in our lifetime. I love you because you are passionate and strong, good and courageous, and because you see the world in a way that allows your heart to be open to love anywhere and everywhere. I am so incredibly glad that someone like you decided to love me."

_'Is it possible to be more in love than I am right now?'_ "Sybil, with you, I feel that I could fly. With you, I feel so much hope for the future-in our happiness and the happiness that we bring to those around us. So," he pulls out a small black box and opens it, "if you would be willing to spend the rest of your life with me, I think all the dreams I have and will have will be within reach."

Her beautiful blue eyes widen and she grins. "Oh, Tom!" She jumps in his arms and kisses him as he spins her around. The laugh against each other before he sets her down again; their foreheads still pressed together.

He slides the ring on her finger and she gazes at it before looking back at him. "Is it-?"

"Yes, Darling, it's conflict-free," Tom chuckles.

"You know me too well. Wait," she pauses, "What's written on it?"

He smiles knowingly as she reads the almost microscopic engraving on the inside of the ring. "The one who warns you, loves you," she reads before sliding the ring back on.

She kisses him again with passion similar to a kiss they shared in Haiti all those kisses ago.

* * *

Sybil's hospital opens and Tom begins writing a book in the coming year. Sybil happily, though reluctantly, begins to speak with her mother again. Her father still won't say anything to her, but her mother insists that he's just brooding. Sybil and Tom work harder than ever before, but they work together on many projects. Later that year, only a month before Tom and Sybil get married, Mary and Matthew have a little boy named George. Tom and Sybil are naturally named the godparents and go to visit the little family in Manchester as soon as work allows.

"Hi, George!" Tom holds the baby above his head. George bursts into a fit of giggles, but Mary is not amused.

"Tom, be careful!" Mary hisses.

"Calm down, Darling. Tom was always a natural with kids. You should have seen him back in our third year when our Victorian Literature professor had to bring in her two year old. Tom kept her calm for two hours," Matthew muses.

Sybil just sits silently and watches her future-husband interacting with the baby. She finds it so sweet that he is so enraptured with little George. After a while, Mary, "Well, Sybil, I trust you to keep Tom in line with the baby. We are going to get some sleep."

She and Matthew exit, leaving Tom and Sybil with their precious godson. Sybil uses this time to move over to Tom's seat and rest her head on his shoulder. "Will it be like this when we have children?" she says as George grabs her finger.

"Probably similar, but we will be ten times more tired, and I have a feeling that you would want to adopt."

She smiles at George, "I don't mind either way, but I think I would like to adopt a child. I feel like I would be doing a favor for a child's parents. I mean, if I died, I would like a nice couple to take care of my child as if he or she were their own. It's kind of a bittersweet thought. Isn't it?"

Tom chuckles. "What is it?" her face curious.

"Even when we are discussing what you want, you find someway to make it about helping someone else. Do you realize that?" he says with a hint of pride in his voice.

"I'll have you know that you do that too!"

"I think that's a byproduct of our kind of work. It doesn't just change your work life. It truly changes everything about you," he smooths George's little tuft of hair back as the baby drifts off to sleep.

Tom gets up and places George back in his crib before returning back to the bed with Sybil. Sybil leans against Tom's shoulder and eventually falls asleep, and Tom remains awake, thinking about how lucky he is to have Mary, Matthew, George, and Sybil in his life.

* * *

The day before Tom and Sybil's wedding, Tom finds Sybil in her hotel room sobbing. He walks over to where she is sitting and hugs her. "Sybil, what's wrong?"

"I spoke to Papa last night when he and Mama arrived, and he said that he thought that I was making an even bigger mess of my life," she sniffles. "I told him I didn't understand why he hated me. Then he took me in to his arms and told me that he loved me. Even Mama was confused." She swallows hard, "How am I suppose to react? He hardly speaks to me in four years and tells me I'm making the worst choices I could possible make. How-how can he do this to me? Why does he treat me like this?"

"Shh," Tom strokes her gently. "I'm no expert on your father. I haven't officially met him, but from what I know, I think you disappointed him." She looks at him incredulously. "No, Darling, you didn't do anything wrong. What I'm saying is that you were the clever one, and he probably hoped that you would become a wealthy CEO or stock broker. He probably always had you becoming a billionaire like him, but you decided to selflessly give up your life to help others. You don't make as much as he would have hoped for you, and in his mind, you aren't successful. In his mind, although this is a very distorted perception of reality, by lashing out at him, you blamed him for your 'so-called failure.' Let me tell you, Sybil Crawley. You are probably the most successful person I know because I measure success in purpose and legacy and happiness, so don't let him get to you."

She dries her tears with the back of her hand and kisses him. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Well, I'm glad you have me then," he helps her up, "Come on, my mother supposedly has 'a million' things to do with you before tomorrow."

* * *

On the day of the wedding Tom fiddles with his tie at the altar. He has wanted to marry Sybil ever since he saw her at Mary and Matthew's wedding, and now he knows how much she loves him and that she will spend the rest of her life with him. He thinks about all the events that led him here. He is here because he bumped into a beautiful, young woman in a hotel lobby in Uganda, and they connected because Sybil decided to break away from her family's expectations and go in to human rights. _ 'What would have happened if she had walked through the lobby three minutes earlier? What if Sybil decided never to go to medical school? What if I never had the courage to ask her to dinner?' _He takes a deep breath and exhales. None of that matters to him at this moment. He is marrying the woman he loves.

He looks at the congregation. Miria is waving at him with her two sons. Tom sees his mother already starting to tear up, and Sybil's parents sitting, indifferent to one another in an adjacent pew. He sees all the people he and Sybil have helped over the years. His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of Bach-Gounod's Ave Maria. 'This is it,' he tells himself.

Sybil's bridesmaids Anna, Gwen, Edith, and Mary walk down the aisle until Sybil is in view, and Tom feels his knees begin to buckle. She looks angelic with her loose brown curls that glow in the sunlight and elegant with her simple white dress. She gives him a joyful smile and he remembers to breathe. When she reaches the steps, he takes her hand and she whispers subtly in his ear, "Thank you for making my dreams come true."

He wishes he could kiss her right there, but suddenly they are separated by propriety. He tries to listen as the priest speaks about love and marriage, but he can only think of her. When the ceremony is done, he dips her in front of the congregation and gives her one of his passionate kisses, Sybil has come to know well.

The wedding reception is in one of Tom's friends' art gallery, and Sybil can't help but laugh at how incredibly happy she is. When it comes time for everyone to give speeches, Sybil decides to speak.

"There is an old Ugandan proverb that says, 'The one who warns you, loves you,' and I will tell you that that saying is true. When I first began my work on building a hospital in Uganda, I invited a journalist who wanted to do a piece on me. We were talking when a wooden beam fell from the ceiling and almost hit me. Luckily, Tom was there to pull me out of the way. Even better for me, we became best friends. We learned we had so much in common and similar aspirations for the future. We were the best man and maid of honor at my sister's wedding, and Tom saved me then too. He warned me just as a glass fell from beside me and shattered. Finally, I must say is when Tom and I went to Haiti to study its destruction. We were up in the mountains when a rock came tumbling and almost hit me. For the third time, Tom was there to warn me. He did warn me on that night, but even more amazing is that he told me that he loved me. My life is what it is because of Tom. I have achieved what I have because of his support and encouragement, and now, with him by my side forever, there is no end to my dreams or his. Thank you."

Everyone else speaks, and Tom and Sybil dance the night away until they can't bear to be around other people anymore. Tom drives them to their hotel in a 1920 Renault that he fixed up for the occasion. Tom carries Sybil into the hotel and to their room much to the entertainment and annoyance of the hotel staff.

That night Tom falls asleep, with his beautiful wife in his arms, with nothing but hopeful thoughts for the future and joy for the present.

* * *

After her wedding, Sybil reluctantly begins to speak to her father again. He never officially meets Tom, but they are able to build a relationship, although somewhat distant.

* * *

Two years later, Tom and Sybil Branson experience a tragedy while they are in Haiti. They had been looking after patience in critical care, particularly a young woman named Kado who had a three year old daughter named Adelaide. Tom and Sybil were nursing Kado in their home after she contracted AIDS from a makeshift blood transfusion. Sybil and Tom had grown incredibly fond of Kado and Adelaide, but after two weeks of fighting, Kado died. Before she died, Kado made Sybil and Tom to promise to take care of Adelaide. With that, Tom and Sybil adopt their first child.

Tom and Sybil raise Adelaide while never failing to remember Kado. Three years go by with their beloved daughter until Sybil meets an orphan named Tenzin while she is working in Tibet. The two immediately bond, and Sybil adopts their second child. Over the years Sybil and Tom adopt five children from across the globe and watch as their love grows.

* * *

Years later, on Tom and Sybil's 60th wedding anniversary a filmmaker asks them to be interviewed for her documentary on marriage.

"So, how long did it take you two to fall in love?"

Tom, despite being almost ninety, is still sharp as a tack, "Well, I don't believe in love at first sight, but after knowing her for a day, I couldn't imagine anyone more amazing. I guess I'd say that I truly fell in love with her about two months after we met when we were at a clothing store and before she bought a shirt, she had to check her phone to see if that brand used slave labor," he chuckles and puts his hand over his wife's. "The way she is always so selfless makes me have hope in the world."

The filmmaker smiles, "So, then, what do you think made your marriage work these sixty years?"

Sybil grins and glances at Tom, "Because of what Tom just said. He never forgets why he loves me and I never forget why I love him, so even when we fought, we still knew we loved each other. Because he still holds me every night. Because he never takes me for granted. The reasons are endless!"

"Also, I think we aren't just husband and wife. We are coworkers, partners, and best friends. We never feel uncomfortable being ourselves around each other or explaining our thoughts because understand each other better than anyone else."

Tom looks at Sybil lovingly and kisses her cheek.

"Finally," the woman asks, "after all these years, has your feeling toward each other changed?"

Tom stares nostalgically into space as he answers, "When I first saw her in a hotel lobby in Uganda, my heart felt light and fluttery. When I first held her in an abandoned building almost sixty-five years ago, I had butterflies in my stomach. And still to this day, when I look at her, my hear feels light and fluttery, and when I hold her, I still get butterflies in my stomach. Little things change, but the way I feel about her will always remain the same."

Sybil dabs at her eyes, "Tom, I'm warning you. If you say anything more, I will burst into tears."

Tom looks at her with his lopsided-smile, "Well you know what they say-"

"The one who warns you, loves you."

The filmmaker looks at them, confused, but Tom never looks away from Sybil "I'm glad I have always had you to warn me."

"And I will never be able to thank you enough for warning me," she says as she kisses him as though it was their first.

* * *

_This ran longer than I expected but that's okay! I hope you all liked the story. Please review!_


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